


Silver & Blaze: Our Story

by Iris_Sweetheart



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama & Romance, Friendship, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25333957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iris_Sweetheart/pseuds/Iris_Sweetheart
Summary: Two friends. Fifteen years. And many stories to be told. This is a story about friendship and the paths chosen.
Relationships: Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Where I Was

### Act 1: Childhood

#### Where I Was

My name is Blaze the Cat. That doesn’t need to be said but this is my story. Actually, it’s not just my story but one that I share with many others so, more appropriately, this is _our_ story. In any case, the past fifteen years have been everything but ordinary. All that I went through eventually became the norm and it even got to the point where anything unexpected became…expected. But I never realized that I had fallen into this mindset until now. Until the sight before me finally sunk deep into my consciousness

The tanned afternoon sky. The smell of the sea waves crashing at my feet. The revived Death Egg fortress now half-destroyed and slowly descending on the horizon; its engines struggling to support its fat weight. To top it all off, the visual was offset by the gorgeous setting sun. It was a definite mission accomplished for us and while this one event brought their feud to an end, it certainly wouldn't be the last that would require us to work together once more. I'd see those boys again in due time.

I brushed my fingers across my lips, grasped the tiny object in my hand, and reminisced in awe. Reminisced about where I was fifteen years ago and the journey I went on to get to where I am now. A journey where I crossed paths with many others…and shared exclusively with _him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	2. The Witch in Me

### Blaze, Age 10

#### The Witch in Me

_June_

The entire day their eyes followed me. Everywhere I went, their whispers followed. It hurts…not just the wounds I have all over me covered up by clothes I usually wear in the fall. The words I hear hurt too. They can whisper as quietly as they want but…I’m a cat. I can still hear that stuff. One day, some girls intentionally bumped into me and I dropped my lunch bag and a few books. With no intention of helping me, they kept on walking down the hallway laughing all the while. What did I ever do to them? It’s just unfair. Silver thought so too as he knelt down next to me and helped gather my books. When I picked up my lunch bag, he grasped onto my wrist and helped me up though his grip was a little too tight. I didn’t want to get mad at him and raise my voice, so I tugged on my arm a few times before he finally came to his senses and released me.

“Ah…sorry about that.” Silver looked away bashfully. “Hey Blaze, I forgot to bring my lunch money with me so…”

Again? He does this too often for it to be a coincidence but…I’m not in the mood of mothering him right now.

“It’s fine. I’ll share some of mine with you.” I started to walk down the hall towards the lunchroom and Silver fell into step behind me.

I guess I should go into more detail about my wounds. They’re burn injuries I got from a fire that occurred in my home two weeks ago. How it all started is still a mystery, even to the firefighters who investigated afterward. I barely remember being caught up in the fire. If anything, I recall going to bed early because I was feeling unusually tired that day and woke up some time later nearly choking on thick smoke. The next memory after that was in the hospital with my parents at my bedside and bandages mostly over the lower half of my body and a little on my hands and arms. The doctor called them "second-degree burns". In short, I would be ok with some treatment. Most of the burns have almost healed up now but I still want to keep them covered until the fur grows back.

Jumping back to the present, the rest of the school day went by about as normal as it could with me ignoring anyone that made fun of me or whispered behind my back. Silver was at my side as we walked home together through the forest on the small dirt path we always used to go home from school. The scratching of our shoes on the dirt, the twittering birds in the distance, and the soft chattering of the leaves as they swayed in the wind. I felt uneasy. Whenever I became nervous by the atmosphere, no matter how peaceful it was, I resorted to a habit that quickly developed since the house fire. I would nibble at the bandages on my left fingers. Mom told me that whenever I did that, I was releasing…en…endorphins? I’m not exactly sure but she told me that it was something that our bodies produced naturally whenever we’re in pain or under stress. I guess I’ve been in a lot of stress lately since I’ve been chewing on the bandages often.

It was then when I suddenly felt Silver pull my hand away from my mouth.

“You’ll mess up the bandages and get an infection,” he said as if it was his turn to parent me now.

He probably made that up but I stopped anyway knowing how easy it is for Silver to worry over me.

“We’re having salmon for dinner tonight,” he said. “If you want, my mom can wrap some up for you to take back to your grandpa’s place.”

With our house under repairs right now, my parents and I are staying with my grandfather across town. It’s a bit of a long drive so dad drops me off at school in the morning. I walk to Silver’s house in the afternoon and stay there until dad can pick me up on his way home from work.

“Sounds nice,” I said.

I’m sure Silver wanted to say more since he’s the type that feels that every bit of silence needs to be occupied with some kind of noise…but then I felt him look over at me and held back whatever he wanted to say. Sometimes he’s actually capable of knowing when to do the right thing.

The atmosphere suddenly changed when, just ahead of us, some bushes lying off the path rustled and Lucas, a tall wolf kid from school, jumped out with one of his sidekick buddies, a lanky weasel named Desmond. Behind us, a few more members of Lucas’s gang appeared on the path; the weasel’s twin brother, Avin, and two snarky girls I wasn’t familiar with. One was a raccoon I didn’t recognize and the other…oh no. It was that thin dog I accidentally hurt after the fire at my house. She still had bandages around her forearm from where I touched her. Instinctively, Silver stood in front of me blocking Lucas from my view.

“There she is Avin,” said the dog holding Avin’s arm. “That’s the witch who burned me!”

I looked at her briefly and saw the anger in her eyes and turned back and stuck close to Silver.

“Hey, keep your girl Hanna in check,” Lucas said cracking his knuckles. He then looked at me and Silver. “She can have the witch all she wants. I want to have a talk with her lover boy.”

Not really sure what Silver thinks of it, but I don’t like it when people start rumors like that. We’re just friends as far as I’m concerned.

“We don’t have to talk to you Lucas!” Silver shouted unnecessarily. “Just let us go home! We don’t want any trouble!”

“Not your choice bird-hair. I _want_ to talk to you.”

The sight of Lucas punching his hand into his fist and his lackeys closing in on us caused my stomach to drop and release even more endorphins from my brain. Right there and then, I felt Silver grab onto my hand but only for a small second. We were pulled apart as the girls, approaching from behind, grabbed me and dragged me away. They shoved me around and pulled at my clothes while I caught glimpses of Silver being beaten up by the boys. Most of the work done by Lucas. Part of me wanted to fight back but common sense told me that fighting would just lead to more trouble with these kids…so I took the harassment. At one point, when I fell to the ground on my stomach, I could feel one of the burn areas on my legs tingle in pain as if a wound had reopened. Fearing that any more sudden jerks would make the pain worse, I remained on the ground while the girls stood over me and taunted.

"What's wrong? Can't walk anymore 'cause of your burnt legs?" the raccoon girl said with a laugh afterward.

Hanna reached down to pull at my hair. Even though I refused to fight back, I wasn’t going to leave myself completely at their will and tried to get her off of me.

“Keep moving and I’ll kick your face in!” Her shadow against the ground revealed that she was holding something in her hand. “Sit still so I can cut off this stupid ponytail of yours. I’ll start cutting up your clothes if you don’t stop.”

“It was an accident. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I said while I continued to struggle.

“Shut up! I don’t care! It’s your fault my parents hate my boyfriend because they think _he’s_ the one who burned me and I lied about it!”

A sudden response came from my body as every bone and muscle became unified in getting that girl’s grubby hands off of my hair. When I was able to turn around while on the ground, I tried reaching up to grab the scissors from her but she held that hand out of reach. Just as I was about to find my footing and stand up, the raccoon girl pushed me on my back and pinned my arms down at my sides and I was at their mercy grunting and screaming at them. To make the torture less frustrating for them, they felt the need to turn me on my stomach again and shoved my face into the dirt; their laughter clearly audible in my ears. The urge to fight back grew in me and my body got the message to squirm about as much as I could.

Slowly but surely, I was able to turn my face sideways and got partial vision from one eye. Blurry and obscured by bits of dust but vision none the less. Silver wasn’t in any better position than I was with him going against three boys as opposed to two girls. Still, if nothing had changed about my jumpy, naïve friend, then he would definitely be able to get us out of this situation if I could just open my mouth. A little more… Keep lifting up my neck… I think I got it!

“Silver! Help!” I know my words probably sounded more garbled than that as the raccoon girl on my back shoved my face back into the dirt but it was the general message that I was trying to get out.

Regardless of clarity, it worked. I could hear him shoving the twin weasel boys out of his path and run towards me. Not even Lucas, who was built heavier than Silver, would be able to stop him now that he was in "hero mode". The sound of the wolf falling to the ground was relief to my ears and Silver's crazy cry of heroism was enough to distract the girls from cutting my hair. Unfortunately, I was unable to see these two wenches scared off even after they got off of me. I stayed on the ground as the fight progressed around me so the only entertainment I got was in the form of their screams filling the air as they backed away. The next thing I felt was Silver's gentle hands on my arms as he helped me up and my frantic heart inside my chest trying to calm itself.

“Are you ok?”

There was that look of worry in his eyes again. Ready to burst into tears almost. However, someone else had already burst into tears. A little ways from us, the dog girl was crying and holding a wound on her bandaged forearm that bleed through her fingers while her friend panicked beside her.

“Oh god! She’s dying!” the other screamed at what was most likely a harmless flesh wound caused by the sharp scissors. “This is all your fault!”

There was no time for Silver and myself to react and find her some help for Lucas and the boys attacked us from behind. Silver disappeared from my side as Lucas tackled him to someplace off the dirt path. Avin grabbed me from behind and had me in a locking hold while Desmond stood before me, grabbing my chin.

“You know, I used to think you were cute…and then I heard that you were a witch who likes to burn stuff.”

His breath was horrible and not even a spit to his face was enough to get him away.

“Hey Avin, remember that story we read in Lit class where people who were apart of the witchcraft religion were put on trial?” he said while wiping his face off.

“Yeah. What of it?”

“Why don’t we put her on trial too.”

Desmond sneered as he pulled out a rusty metal chain from his vest pocket.

“Wait, are you going to choke her?” Avin asked not letting up his grip on me.

“Obviously. I don’t carry around ropes long enough to hang witches. Besides, this should be enough anyway.”

I tried to fight as Desmond walked around to his brother behind me but it wasn’t enough to stop him from getting the chain around my neck. Together, they pushed me down and I felt the chain tighten around my neck.

“The whole point of the trials was to see if people really were witches. If they were, they’d use their powers to save themselves,” Desmond said as to his brother who held me down by my arms and had a knee dug into my back. “You see where I’m going here right?”

“Yeah,” said Avin. “If she’s a true witch she’ll save herself by trying to hurt us. And if she isn’t…well I guess that’s what she gets for burning my girlfriend.”

I wanted to tell them again that it was an accident but the amount of fear that had built up in my stomach was nearly paralyzing. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes over how powerless I was against these stronger boys and, suddenly, the chain tightened around my throat. At that moment I wanted to cry out to Silver, mom, dad…ANYONE! But I couldn't as I felt the bones in my neck getting pushed inward while blood pressure built up in my head and around my eyes. Amid my helpless panic, I could hear Avin's girlfriend screaming at the top of her lungs to kill me and for a brief moment…I was sure that I was going to die. I don't even know why it happened. Why I suddenly started to burn things. But it wasn't my fault. I didn't mean for it to happen and I understand even less about why I'm able to do such a thing. It scared me more than it did these guys so, in all honesty, I should be the one punishing myself not these kids.

Slowly and slowly my breath grew short and a dizzy feeling filled my head as I felt what I can only describe as a sleepy feeling overcome me. Just when I was about to close my eyes, the weight vanished from my back and I took a deep breath of fresh air while my throat burned a little from the choking. When I looked up, all I saw in my blurred vision was Silver taking on both twins in a furious fight between the three. The girls were standing back too afraid of the boys' struggle and Lucas was nowhere to be found. With wobbling legs, I managed to stand up only to be pinned against the tree behind me by Hanna.

“You disgusting freak! People like you don’t deserve to live and go on ruining other people’s lives!” she spat in my face.

I wrestled against her hands that grasped at my shoulders and she began to shake me trying to slam my head into the tree. Just stop….just stop…JUST STOP IT ALREADY! I kneed her in the stomach as hard as I could and she stumbled away. And without missing a beat, I stomped towards her and yelled back in a voice just as loud as hers.

“LEAVE ME ALONE! IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT YOU IDIOT!”

I couldn’t stand it any longer. My life being threatened. I was angry. No. I was beyond angry. I wanted to snap and tear these two girls apart and the heated emotions in my gut justified those thoughts. In my mind I could see their bodies turning into a pile of ash on the ground and then doing the same to Lucas and his friends…and then to anyone else who dared to attack me, Silver, my family, _anyone_ I cared for. Yeah, that’s what they all deserve. But instead of being able to grab those girls and burn them alive, I saw them moving back instead. Together, Hanna and her raccoon friend stumbled back and fell to the ground looking up at me in fear. Suddenly they both started to scream. Loud enough to get the boys' attention and the twins also shouted and scrambled across the ground as well. The four of them got up and ran off back towards the neighborhood while Silver remained on the ground staring at me in awe. I looked at him and he slowly lifted a finger pointing at my hands. When I looked at them…there was fire dancing around in the palms of my hands! Oh my god… My mind went blank briefly until I heard shouting from behind me as well. I looked back to see Lucas stumbling to his feet and running off.

“Stay away you fucking witch!” he shouted as he ran off.

I looked back towards my friend unsure of what to do. I couldn’t stop this for some reason. I wanted to but the fire just kept burning in my hands so I gave in and just fell to my knees. I started to hyperventilate not sure whether to cry or scream and my head became full of all sorts of thoughts that were hard for me to make out. But then I saw Silver crawl over to me and sat on his knees in front of me. I saw him hold out his hands and when I looked up in his eyes…he was crying.

“Here. Just take my hands,” he said to me.

I shook my head because I was going to burn him. Is he crazy?! But Silver kept holding out his hands while tears streamed down his face. I can’t stand seeing him like this. It’s unnecessary. I started taking deep breaths and calmed the feelings within me…and soon the flames disappeared from my hands. And, carefully, I reached my hands over towards Silver’s and held onto them. …He wasn’t hurt. I didn’t burn him. He smiled despite his crying and suddenly hugged me. Why? Why is he crying? _I’m_ the one who's hurt. It was a few moments before he let go and got up to retrieve our stuff still lying on the ground near the forest path. Silver then took me by the hand and dragged me up to follow him through the forest. At first, I wondered where I was taking me but then I started to recognize our surroundings.

Out of all the places we could go to in our tiny community, a small area at the edge of the forest was the only place we could go to and find some kind of peace away from everything. Exiting out of the forest, it was a small walk up a low-grade hill \and on the other side was the open Emerald Valley backed by a mountain chain far to the north. I could see why the founders of our town built it in the middle of the largest piece of open land on this continent. Out here on the edge, the sounds of the townspeople bustling about were nonexistent. There was only the air, the sway of the tall grass, and the birds above. Nature in its purest form. Still, our secret spot out here wasn't enough to change the fact that just moments ago…something disturbing happened within me. I can only describe it as a strong desire to cause pain and it was pretty clear when I finally found the strength to fight back against those girls. I’ve never felt that way before…felt like hurting someone and being overjoyed at the thought. This sounds silly but I really, _really_ do feel as if the flames have a life of their own. A spirit that’s bitter and angry about everything and doesn’t let go of grudges. The true witch that’s been giving me a bad name. Of course, that’s just speculation…or me trying to make sense of this sudden change within me. Not to mention the excuse of “I’m possessed by an evil fire spirit” sounds pretty stupid.

We sat at the top of the small hill and looked out at the mountains in the distance.

“You’ll be ok.” Silver spoke softly and in response I looked over at his beaten self, covered in bruises and bleeding spots mostly on his face. I wondered briefly which one of us was crazy. Him for trying to act brave when he was crying alligator tears just minutes ago or me for not being as freaked out as I should be over what I can only describe as a weird yearning for destruction within me. It didn't matter. I was exhausted. I hugged my knees tighter and buried my face into them while Silver moved closer and wrapped his arms around me.

“We…we can go home when you’re ready.”

“Yeah…I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	3. The Fireworks

### Blaze, Age 10

#### The Fireworks

_July_  


It's been a few weeks since I was attacked and I still haven't cried. Strange. Even when Silver's parents became concerned about what happened to us when we got home that day and my parents talked to me when I got back to my grandfather's place, I still didn't feel the urge to cry. I just wanted to stay in my room and not talk about the incident. So I never told anyone what happened. I think that's when mom and dad decided to make our stay on this side of town permanent. They're now looking for a new place to live at the moment. As for our stuff in our old home? Well, whatever isn't damaged we'll be able to take with us. For now, we're still staying with grandfather. Even better is the fact that it's Garden Festival Week so my parents decided to hold off on the house hunting for a while. A brief description of the Garden Festival would be that it's a week-long celebration of all the different plant life on the continent of Mobius. Apparently, humans don't have this holiday but do have something similar with fireworks. Mom told me that the Garden Festival was a metaphor for celebrating how everyone can come together as one regardless of if you're a Mobian or human. As for me, the Garden Festival meant going to tons of parties and having all sorts of great food. Considering what I just went through, this is a pretty good pick-me-up to take my mind off of that incident. My parents were still concerned and said that we could stay at grandfather's place during the week and have our own little fun, but I really want to get out there and enjoy other parties and stuff. It's a yearly tradition for our family and I want to forget what happened to me.

Now if I could only convince mom that wearing frilly dresses to the parties wasn’t necessary… I wonder where she got the money for those things since most of what I owned was lost in the fire.

Halfway through Garden Festival Week and I still have plenty of energy left to go. Just a couple of more parties to get through and the best day of the week will be here. The last day of the festival. On the last day, most people in town gather at four spots where fireworks will be shown or throw the biggest and best parties at their homes. The four places where they show fireworks are at the park close to grandfather's place, the high school back in the old neighborhood, the downtown area, and then some random place that changes every year.

My parents talked with Silver's parents and they're coming over to the cookout we're having on the last day. I wonder if Silver will be ok since he was pretty broken up after the incident. I haven't spoken to him since. Guess I'll have to find out this Saturday what he's been up to and if Lucas and his gang have been picking on him.

Saturday. The final and biggest day of the Garden Festival. The day started off early enough with the entire family waking up at the crack of dawn. Even I was dragged out of bed to help with preparations for the cookout, much to my displeasure. But, hey, since it’s a family thing I suppose it’s not too bad. Better to make the most of it until the extended family arrives. They drove in from out of town just to be at the cookout…which means I’ll be at the mercy of my annoying cousins. I can’t stand those three.

Unfortunately, lunch came too soon for me and the extended family arrived…along with my three cousins. Oh, should I mention that everyone here is from my dad’s side of the family? Growing up, I’ve always found it strange that I never once met anyone on mom’s side of the family. Anyway, with the extended family here, I went straight into defense mode ready to protect myself from whatever my cousins had up their sleeves. When is Silver getting here?

The cookout was underway in the backyard and my cousins started their favorite game of "Tail Tag" where the idea was to pull as hard as you could on the tail of whoever wasn't "it". Annoying, really, but since we were the only kids at the cookout, I decided to put up with a round or two. The party carried on under the high afternoon sun with music playing from the stereo on the patio and everyone enjoyed the food and weather. Neighbors even came over to join in on the fun. No other kids, just adults. Then it happened. I grew bored and annoyed of "Tail Tag" and started doing whatever I could to get out of the game. The adults were too busy mingling to help me out, so I took it upon myself to pull out of the game in my own "Blaze-like" way.

“That’s is brats! I’m done! Either back off or get a face full of dirt.” I cracked my knuckles for added effect.

Yeah, I know. I'm not one to bully others but I swear my cousins don't understand any request short of a threat. Besides, I see my aunt and uncle talk to them like that so I guess it's ok. They got the point and ran off continuing the game among themselves while I headed to the side of the house and towards the front yard. Hey! They're here! Silver and his parents just pulled up! They were a little late but came as promised. Silver was quick to jump out of the car before his dad had even turned off the engine and dashed across the yard to meet me. I was surprised at how happy he was.

“Blaze! Blaze!” He nearly tackled me over as he hugged me. “This week was totally awesome for me! How about you?”

So he got over the incident enough to have fun during the festival? I’m surprised. I gave him a short explanation of my week. Kept it cool and simple, you know?

“Sweet. So what kind of food do you guys have here?”

Silver strolled past me, his nose guiding him to the grill and buffet setup, and all I could do was smile. Maybe I'll catch up with him later when he's not stuffing his face with food. His parents greeted me briefly as they passed, his mother carrying a covered dish in her hands. I was about to head on back until something across the street caught my attention. A kid was staring at me. A black and red hedgehog. Where did he come from? I didn't realize that I was staring at him until he broke eye contact and walked away. Weird. I hope he doesn't go to the school I’m transferring. By the time I returned to the backyard, my cousins were buzzing around Silver with a friendly façade. Vultures looking for their next target to "play" with. Better keep an eye on Silver.

The sun began to set, the party started dying out, and I can officially give Silver the nickname of "Garbage Disposal". I've never met a kid who could eat as much as he does! The best part was obviously seeing my extended family leave along with my cousins. It feels great to be an older kid with the privilege of a slightly later bedtime. With them gone, it was just my family and a few neighbors who hadn't left waiting for the fireworks to start. When night came, Silver and I were briefly distracted by my grandmother's homemade ice cream which she had made the day before. Since most of the adults were too full to eat anymore, whatever was left in the small tub was just for Silver and myself. It was strange that Silver's parents, who were usually super strict about him having too much sugar, didn't care if he ate the rest of the ice cream with me.

Nightfall came and everyone was out back either in lawn chairs or on blankets laid out on the grass waiting for the fireworks show to start. Silver and I were on a blanket in front of the adults.

“So how are things holding up for you?” I had long since given up the ice cream to Silver which he was just about to finish off.

“Not too bad.” Silver stuffed down the last spoonful and swallowed wincing at the small brain freeze. “I didn’t go out too much after the fight. I was worried about Lucas and his gang coming after me. When my parents finally forced me to go out, that’s when I met my new friends.”  


New friends? Already? That was pretty fast.

“They’re really cool! You should come back to the old neighborhood soon, Blaze. I think you should meet them. We’re going to the pool next month so come back then.”

Looks like he’s back to his old self. Inviting me along without even asking me properly like he knows I’ll say yes.

"Alright, I'll think about it." Between the two of us, this was my way of agreeing to go with him.

Right there and then, the first explosion lit the sky starting the fireworks show from the park nearby. It was everything that I expected it to be with big explosions and even those funny ones that sizzle away like a dying whistle. About halfway through the show, I felt Silver hold onto my hand and I looked at him staring hard into the empty ice cream tub in his lap. Looks like I spoke too soon about his good mood. He’s already going back to the incident.

“You haven’t told anyone have you?” I guessed after a moment of silence.

"No. I'm sorry I let that happen to you Blaze." He spoke quietly but loud enough for me to hear. "I'll make sure that they pay for it."

“It’s fine Silver. I’ll be ok.” I said in return.

"No. They should've known better."

Sitting there watching the anger build up in his eyes… I couldn’t let him go on like this.

“Silver, stop it. You’ll miss the fireworks.” I spoke to him in a strict tone.

Knowing that I was serious whenever I spoke that way, Silver cleared up and stopped whatever tears he wanted to cry. While I was trying to get him to grow up a little and stop being a crybaby, I actually did it to stop myself from caving in to the suppressed feelings within me. Having fun during Garden Festival Week was a family tradition and I didn’t want to ruin this year by making a scene. Besides, if I started crying now, I’d be letting out all of the anguish I’ve been holding in for almost a month. No, I can’t ruin the festival. I can’t ruin this happy memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	4. Relief for the Future

### Blaze, Age 10

#### Relief for the Future

_August_

As Silver kept his promise to see me during the festival, I kept mine and went to see him back in the old neighborhood the following month. Since it was a day trip to the pool, I wore my bathing suit under my summer clothes. At this point, a fresh coat of fur completely covered up the scars from my burn wounds. The plan was to meet up with Silver at his place and from there, his parents would take us to the pool. Everything went just as planned and, in no time, I found myself being dragged by Silver through the crowded public pool park filled with families enjoying the water activities.

“They said they’d be hanging around the shallow pool…” Silver stopped and searched around while I broke free of his hand. “Oh! There they are!”

Suddenly we were off again shooting through the crowd as Silver rushed to his friends like a dog to its owner. I’m pretty sure I heard the lifeguard blow his whistle at us…or someone in general. I’m not a very athletic person so when we came to a stop I gladly took the opportunity to take a breather, hunching over with my hands on my knees. 

“Hey man! You made it!” I heard one boy say. “We were running a bet on how late you were going to be and according to my watch…you’re came in just shy of ten minutes. I believe that makes Honey the winner.” 

A girl’s voice giggled excitedly while she clapped her hands and I finally regained my composure and straightened up. 

“A bet? You guys were counting on me to be late?” It’s kinda cute to see Silver’s ears droop over when he’s upset. 

“No, no, no. It’s nothing like that Silver.” The green duck got up from his towel and threw an arm around Silver. “We were just entertaining ourselves until you got here. That’s all.” 

"Well, there's a big pool over there. You could've gone swimming until I got here."

“Are you nuts!? There’s nothing but babies and brats in that one and we can’t go in the big pool since Honey’s not that good of a swimmer. Plus, there’s nothing but annoying teens and stupid adults over there. Everybody will just suck up all the fun for us!” 

This conversation just keeps getting more entertaining for me and I was hoping it would’ve gone longer had the large polar bear kid not pointed me out. After shoving the green duck off of him, Silver pulled me in close with his usual cheesy grin. 

“Guys, I’d like you to meet my best friend. Her name is Blaze!” 

When it comes to introductions, I wish that, just once, he would let me introduce myself. I really don’t like being shoved into the spotlight so suddenly. All I did was smile sheepishly with a short wave and got the same gesture in return from the other three. 

“She and I have been friends since forever!” 

"Since kindergarten, actually," I said wiggling my way out of Silver's hold. "So not for very long." 

Honey, the yellow cat with black hair, invited me to sit on her towel with her even though I had brought one of my own. How nice of her. She even complimented me on putting up with Silver’s jumpy behavior for so long and, again, I could only smile. I hope he hasn’t been torturing these guys in the short time they’ve been friends. 

With all of us settled down, we decided to hold off a little on going in the pool. I just sat back and watched as they chatted on about whatever they've been doing during the summer. From what I witnessed, there's a very strong dynamic among them that enables them to get along well with each other, even with Silver's jumpy behavior. Bean, the green duck, was the most outspoken and "leader" of the group who always kept a cool attitude. Bark, the polar bear, was pretty quiet and reserved like me so I guess he did a lot of watching and only spoke when necessary. Honey was the fashion type since her bathing suit looked way cooler than mine, so that would make her the designated female friend of the group. Nice job Silver. You found yourself a well-rounded unit. All that's missing is a brainy kid to explain the complicated stuff. 

“You see, if I was running this pool park I’d have all the babies, teens, and adults outta here! Cool kids only, you know?” Bean announced proudly. 

“Great idea Bean.” Honey rolled her eyes. “Only loophole there is that when we’re teens, then we won’t be able to come to the pool park.” 

“Now, now, now. Let me finish.” The duck pointed a rigid finger at the cat who just turned up her nose. “Then when we become teens, then all the stupid kids will have to go and only us cool teens will be allowed into the pool…and any girlfriends I’ll have at that point.” 

The other three laughed, and I giggled to myself at how bold this kid was. Obviously, it was all a joking discussion brought on by how crowded this place was but it was in good fun. Honey decided to get up and pulled Silver to his feet eagerly. 

"I think more people are getting out. Let's go in!" she said and hurried to the shallow pool. 

Bean and Bark followed while Silver opted to stay with me. I knew he wasn't going to try and drag me to the pool because he knows that I don't do well in crowded places. He probably just wanted to talk with me. 

“So what do you think of my new friends?” he asked while I stood up to head to the cooler of food Silver’s parents brought along. 

“They’re good for you. They’ll keep an eye on you so I won’t have to worry.” 

After some digging, I got out what was probably a turkey sandwich and proceeded to unwrap it. 

“Yeah, I guess so. But they’ll never replace you.” I heard Silver say behind me. 

He had me stumped on how to reply but it was definitely touching. So I asked him why was that. 

“Because…you’re you…and there’s only one you.” When I turned back towards Silver, he had that silly grin on his face. “No one would be special if there were copies of them wandering around. Ha!” 

All I could do was agree with him and he rushed off to the shallow pool. While I sat on my towel and began to eat the slightly warm turkey sandwich, I had some thoughts that made me realize that Silver would be ok over here with his new friends. They pretty much covered all of the things he would need to work on: confidence, judgment, and responsibility. From what I saw, everything was in place to keep Silver occupied and I could work on getting my life back together in my new home. You know, make friends, get a fresh start, anything to put that awful event behind me. Silver won’t have to rely on me for advice and I’ll be able to sleep well at night knowing that he’s maturing with the right help. In short, he won’t need me anymore. 

I swallowed the big bite I took out of the sandwich and gazed off into the distance. 

“…Silver won’t need me anymore…” 

Wow… Can we really stay friends after this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	5. Keeping Up with Introductions

### New Beginnings

#### Keeping Up with Introductions

_September_

It's amazing how parents are still caught off guard by back-to-school shopping. Had mom known that this store would be a jungle the week before school, I'm pretty sure she would've taken me shopping weeks earlier. Then again, the entire family needed to wind down after the move even though we still have more boxes to unpack. There's also the fact that more people live on this side of town too.

During our frantic shopping, mom decided to take a breather and went to look through the shoe section. I wandered off to find a notebook, the last item on our list. After avoiding a bunch of kids and some fatigued store workers, I was back in the school supply aisle. The shelves were nearly bare but what was left wasn't too bad. I found a modest-looking purple notebook sitting alone on the bottom shelf and claimed it as my own.

“Nice choice. Favorite color?” Some kid in red and white shoes had suddenly appeared next to me.

Upon standing, I came face to face with a blue hedgehog. Strange. I wonder if he knows that black hedgehog I saw during the Garden Festival…

“What’s your name?” I asked skipping over his question.

"Sonic." For no reason, he struck a cheesy pose. "Sonic the Hedgehog! And you?"

“Just Blaze and yeah I do like purple.” Though not because it’s the color of my fur.

“Cool. You must be new to town ‘cause I know everyone in these parts and you’re someone I’ve never met. Am I right or am I right?”

Funny. He's got an attitude but he's super cool about it. A very easy-going personality. Unfortunately, he wasn't so right and I corrected him.

“I see.” He had a hand on his chin as if he had made a brilliant discovery. “So you’re from the vills.”

“The what?”

And that was my introduction to some of the slang the kids on this side of town used. Apparently, where I came from was referred to as the vills, short for village since the area is a bit like a village. This side of town was the burbs, obviously short for suburban. As for the downtown area with the low-rise buildings…

“Just downtown. Nothing special.” Sonic shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

From there, we chatted up about a few other things like my old neighborhood, my age, any other friends I had… It was kinda one-sided which didn’t hit me until I found myself flipping through the pages of the spiral notebook in hand while chatting away about Silver. Luckily I caught myself and decided to turn the tables on him and ask about the black hedgehog. But Mr. Fast-Talker cut me off with another question.

“So what school are you going to? Public, private, or what?”

Now here’s an opportunity to show my dry wit. Ask him what the “or what” option was but I wasn’t really in a dry mood and wanted to get to the black hedgehog issue quickly.

"Private. St. Ives I think." With uniforms, I believe.

“Excellent! Looks like I’ll see you bright and early next Monday then.”

It was then when we heard my mom calling me from beyond the aisle and I remembered that we still had to go shopping at a few other stores today. Mostly for fall clothes. Yeah, we're late shoppers on certain things. I had a quick second to ask about the black hedgehog before I had to leave so I turned back to Sonic.

“Hey, before I go, do you know a…black hedgehog?”

Where’d he go? There’s no way anyone could leave that quickly and quietly. I would’ve picked it up with my slightly sensitive hearing. Again, mom called and I was left with having to wait until next week to see Sonic. You know, if he’s really that fast then he may very well find me before I can even spot him from afar. Keeping up with him will definitely be frustrating.

Worst thing about our new home: it’s an apartment, smaller than our old house. Best thing about our new home: I can still walk to school. Summer was obviously present and would be for a few more weeks but that’s not the worst of my walk to school. This lousy uniform is! Considering that mom and I had to go to a specialty store to buy it, the material its made out of is pretty cheap. I’ve only been walking for five minutes and already I’m sweating in this short-sleeve, white shirt! This blue skirt isn’t any better! What is this stuff made out of, paper?

Whatever. All of that aside, including the slightly painful black shoes, I got over it easily and made peace with the evil uniform. All around me I could see a few other kids wearing the same uniform. Little kids, older kids, and some annoying ones that I silently hoped weren’t in the same grade as I was. If I recall correctly, this is one of those schools that start at kindergarten and go all the way up to high school. Must be a pretty big school…which I was wrong about. Up ahead of me, I could see the school come into view. It was kinda small…long in length with only one side of the building going up to a second floor and a bigger building in the back which must’ve been the gymnasium. Just watching all of these kids pour in from the area…filled my stomach with butterflies. Well, here goes.

Before I knew it, I was inside the school following the directions of the guiding teachers through the locker filled hallways. According to my schedule, my homeroom teacher was Miss Evert and her classroom was pretty easy to reach. Upon my approach of her classroom, I was shoved aside violently into a locker by some kid.

"Watch it, slowpoke!" It was some green bird…and he stuck out his tongue at me.

Great. It hasn’t been a full day and already I have an enemy? This is not my idea of a fresh start. Regardless, I went into the half-filled classroom and found a seat in the center. During roll call, I found out that my pushy classmate’s name was Jet. Congratulations, you’re the first name on my avoid list.

Lunch came just in time after a slew of morning classes that were nothing but note taking and boring teacher introductions. I followed the masses of my peers into the small lunchroom filled with round tables instead of the long rectangular ones I recall from elementary. Deciding where to sit was a bit nerve-wracking for me. It seemed like everyone knew where to go and I didn't get the memo. Thankfully, I didn't have to make that decision. A familiar someone approached me from behind with a hard slap on my back.

“Hey there! Long time no see!” Sonic cheerfully greeted and surprised me.

I wouldn’t exactly say that it’s been long enough to warrant such a greeting but I do have to ask what is up with hedgehogs and backslapping? First Silver and now this guy.

“H-hi.” I coughed out.

“Sorry for bailing out on you so suddenly last week. Something came up.”

“No problem. It’s cool.”

I followed Sonic to an empty table by the window. Then I noticed that he didn’t have a lunch bag with him. He better not be a moocher. That speedy attitude of his is enough already. He never sat down but remained standing scanning the cafeteria for someone while I got started on my lunch. A friend to introduce me to? If so, then I hope they’re a little less…odd than he is. It wasn’t long before he spotted the friend and rushed off to retrieve the person leaving me to start on my delicious tuna fish sandwich. Ah, there’s nothing more subtle than the sweet, juicy taste of mom’s special tuna fish and mayonnaise mix. You know…she could’ve put a little more—

“Hey Blaze! I’m back!”

The sudden sound of Sonic slamming his hands onto the table startled me enough to lose my grip on the sandwich. My heart started to crack a little as I watched my delicacy fly out of my hands and towards the doomed, dirty floor. Then my spirits were lifted when Sonic zoomed in and caught the sandwich for me, handing it back to me with a very characteristic grin…and an apology of course.

“Here’s someone I thought you should meet. Since the two of you aren’t big on talking, I figured you two could have half a conversation together.”

The eager hedgehog forced his friend, a red echidna, into the seat across from me. The echidna looked a little older, a year maybe, and tried to smile a little as he clutched his brown lunch bag.

“Hi.” I barely heard him say.

"Hey," I answered back.

…This is the part where the tumbleweed blows by metaphorically.

“Well that was interesting.” Sonic rolled his eyes.

“S-sorry. I-I’m not really good with meeting new people.” The echidna was fiddling with his lunch bag a little too much.

“That’s fine. I’m new to this side of town so I’m a bit nervous myself.” Seemingly satisfied, Sonic left the two of us alone. “Why don’t you take off your backpack. Lunch won’t be over for a while.”

“Oh! Sure!” He started to remove his backpack but struggled with it. “By the way, my name is—whoa!”

I like the fact that this kid isn’t like Sonic, but the complete opposite end of the spectrum is not any better. The short fall from his chair didn’t do much aside from turn his face red when I looked under the table. He was fine and got back up with his backpack finally off and opened up his lunch bag.

“…Knuckles.”

“What?” I looked at him.

“My name is Knuckles.” He pulled out a mashed up sandwich wrapped in plastic and grimaced a bit.

Unusual way to finish a sentence but at least I know his name. Just a theory but I'm sure his name has something to do with those little spikes on his knuckles. I wonder if all echidnas have those since he's the first I've actually seen in real life as opposed to on TV and in books. Just then, my question was answered when Sonic returned with another echidna. A demure looking girl with peach-colored fur and no spikes on her hands.

“I had to go out of my way but I found her heading towards the library. On the first day of school too! Talk about a hardcore bookworm!” Sonic playfully patted the girl on her head.

“I was going to meet a friend there.” She started to explain.

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll see them later on.” Likewise with Knuckles, Sonic forced her into the seat next to the shy boy. “More importantly, I want you to meet Blaze. She just moved here from the vills.”

A short wave was all we needed for a greeting.

“This is Tikal. I thought ol’ Knucklehead here could use some help in talking to girls ‘cause of that one thing that happened… Heh heh.”

Sonic's little snicker afterward sent red flags up for Knuckles and he was pretty quick to fume about it.

“I don’t need help talking to girls Sonic!” Knuckles immediately rose to his feet. “And stop calling me Knucklehead!”

“Hey, hey. Let’s use our inside voice, ok?” Sonic patronized his friend in a teacher-like manner. “Don’t want to catch the attention of Tiara now do we?”

Almost immediately, Knuckles's cheeks flared up in a red deeper than his own fur. He was even quicker to sit back down and buried his face in his lunch bag. Talk about zeroing in on a weakness. I hope I wasn't befriended by the school bully.

“Don’t worry Knuckles.” Tikal came over and patted him on the head. “There was a recent survey that said most people are more afraid of public speaking than anything else.”

Interesting dynamic between these three; similar to that of Silver’s friends. So does that mean the “three musketeers” format is more popular than the “dynamic duo” format? I wonder where I’ll fit into this group if I’m accepted…

“Alright, since we got all of the formalities out of the way with you two, time to introduce a few other notable groups.” Sonic came around to where I was and pointed to a rowdy table across the room. “That there is the jock table. Your typical muscle heads. In the middle, we have the popular girls table. Cheerleaders, pretty girls, etc. In the corner are the whiny emo kids, brainy kids over there. Rich kids, losers, teacher pets, geeks, tree huggers, and Jet…who’s in a class of his own. See? Just like your typical teen drama.”

Fascinating. Although since I’ve already made my claim on my new friends here, I doubt I’ll be socializing with any of those groups. Nor do I care for teen dramas. Last time I checked, we’re kids…or pre-teens or whatever. After finishing up my mother’s delightful tuna fish sandwich, I mentioned in passing my run-in with Jet this morning.

“Is that so?” Sonic mused with a hand on his chin. “Well that’s pretty ‘Jet’ of him to be that way so you may as well get used to it.”

I love how this kid can spit out slang as if it's commonplace language and not care if anyone understands him. Going back to something said earlier…

“Hey Knuckles, who’s Tiara?” I decided to ask the shy boy directly since Sonic has said enough already.

Instead, he just buried his head deeper into his lunch bag destroying whatever lunch he had at that moment. Tikal consoled him and, as expected, Sonic stepped in.

"Only the most popular girl in the junior high school wing." In a dramatic fashion, he pointed out the most attractive girl at the popular table. "Miss Tiara Boobowski. Straight 'A' sweetheart and the most sought after Lynx, hottie by eighth-grade bachelors."

May I interrupt here and ask why pre-teens, like us, insist on acting like adults? Seriously! First that Bean kid and now this. Continue.

“But that hasn’t stopped Casanova over here from trying his luck with her. Even if he is a year younger.” Sonic thumbed at Knuckles slyly.

Finally, Knuckles pulled his face out of his bag…which he probably shouldn’t have done. Whatever he said was completely ignored by the three of us as we broke out into simultaneous laughter. The poor echidna had no idea and only looked at us dumbfounded wondering where the punch line went. Tikal shed some light for him and cleaned off the peanut butter and jelly on his face.

“You know, Tiara likes a good laugh so you still have a fighting chance.” Sonic managed to get out in between laughs.

Didn’t change the fact that Knuckles was embarrassed and I felt he deserved a little comfort since he’s spent most of this lunch period with his face in his bag.

“Relax Knuckles.” I reached over and patted him gently on the back. “Tikal and I will do whatever we can to help you with Tiara. So don’t feel so bad.”

“Um thanks…” He seemed ok but still uneasy.

The rest of the period went by fast but not without me learning a few things about my new friends. Turns out Tikal and Knuckles are cousins living in the same neighborhood. Sonic knows a lot more people than in this school. Also, he and Jet have a rivalry thing going on. The last one I learned only because Jet stopped by our table and had at it with Sonic for a minute or so. The bell rang and we went off to our classes.

After school, the others caught up with me…not that I was expecting them to. Oddly enough, they all wanted to see where I lived…again totally unexpected and invading if I might add. I suppose there’s no harm since, despite their quirks, they seemed like a real levelheaded bunch.

“You know there’s one more guy I wanted to introduce you to Blaze, but he’s hard to catch since he’s always busy.” Sonic scanned he schoolyard as we left. “Oh well. I’m sure we’ll run into him sooner or later.”

Just after we left the school grounds, a familiar kid was waiting for us on the path to my home. It was that black and red hedgehog. Why did it seem like he was waiting for us? And, of all places, on the route back to _my_ home? The others stopped and so did I. Knuckles whispered something to Sonic who immediately told the cousins to leave. This can’t be good. Sonic stepped back and pulled me close to him.

“Stay close Blaze. I’ll try to get you home,” he spoke in a tone that seemed unnatural for him.

“Who’s that?” At last, I could get an answer as to who the creepy kid was.

“Shadow. Someone I suggest you definitely avoid. He’s nothing but a troublemaker…and weird on top of that.”

The weird is a given with a stare like his. Tikal and Knuckles were already gone at this point and that was when Shadow decided to approach the two of us. Suddenly my eyes were playing tricks on me. Another kid appeared out of thin air alongside him…a chameleon? Personally, I don't believe in ghosts but since Sonic was relaxed after the new guy's appearance, I could assume that he wasn't dead. Sonic walked towards Shadow, intent on meeting him halfway, but the black hedgehog just shoved the blue one out of the way like he was nothing. The chameleon held back Sonic, who wanted to come back to me, while Shadow approached, a smile growing on his face. I couldn't help but playback that horrible memory from a few months back and felt the terror rise within me. When Shadow reached me…he took my hand and held it gently in his, still smiling.

“I hope things over here aren’t too startling for you.” His voice was so…mature and smooth. “It’s a vast difference from…the vills, but you’ll soon see that the people over here are no different than those in your former neighborhood. We are all Emerald Town residents after all. My name is Shadow the Hedgehog and if you’re ever lost, don’t be afraid to ask for my assistance.”

“That’s enough of that buddy!” Sonic ended the unusual introduction by shoving Shadow out of the way. “Blaze doesn’t need to worry about getting lost, she has a mind of her own. In fact, why don’t you and Espio do us all a favor and disappear completely. You’re not exactly a socialite and I doubt girls will be throwing themselves at your feet anytime soon.”

The idea of throwing Mr. Creepy out, in general, seemed more appealing to me. Shadow just scoffed it off and went back to Espio.

“We should get together sometime, Blaze, and talk. Exchange stories and whatnot. You seem like someone who has _interesting_ things to tell.”

I…I clutched my shirt, gently, and held those persistent memories down. Sonic defended me some more with words that obviously fell on deaf ears as Shadow and Espio left going off in another direction. The two of us continued on back to the apartment complex though whatever Sonic had to say went in one ear and out the other.

I can fight this. I know I’m strong enough. I won’t let it get to me…ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	6. The Echidnas

### New Beginnings

#### The Echidnas

_September_

One experience that was new to me on this side of town was sleepovers. Back in the old neighborhood, there wasn’t much need for them because Silver was my only friend. Seeing him at school was enough for me. The sleepover was specifically for Tikal’s birthday shortly after the start of the school year. Being my first sleepover experience, I was a little anxious but in a good way. Turns out it was also Tikal’s first sleepover and she was just as excited… Ok, that’s a bit of an understatement. 

The second I stepped out of dad’s car with my small suitcase, a shriek filled the air and made my fur stand on end. Looking towards the front porch of the huge house, I saw Tikal running towards me excitedly…at least I think it was Tikal. Luckily for me, she was a lightweight so her exuberant tackle/hug wasn’t too bad for me to handle. She was nice enough to let go before I had to pry her off and I approached the front porch. Her mother, an echidna just as pretty and elegant looking with fur as peachy as Tikal’s, greeted me and talked with my dad who gave me one last hug before I followed Tikal into the house. 

If my jaw could stretch long enough to the floor, it probably would've done so the second I stepped through the threshold. Her house was…beautiful. Clean, tidy, and decorated with all sorts of exotic furniture. Are her parents historians or artifact collectors? Some of the stuff looked a little familiar like I've seen it in a book or maybe on TV on one of those ruin expedition shows. It seemed like Tikal's family may have a lot of respect in being echidnas; there are so many echidna motifs on this stuff. 

"Interested?" Tikal asked while I was inspecting a small vase painted with stiff-looking echidnas in hieroglyphic fashion. 

"Well, it's just…why does all of this stuff look familiar?" I was careful to back away so I wouldn't breathe on the vase in case it was that old. 

“It’s remnants of the Echidna Civilization from a thousand years ago…well maybe not all of them.” That’s it! That’s where I’ve seen this stuff from! “I’m not sure since I don’t know where my parents got these things but considering the fact that the worldwide echidna population has been shrinking for decades—“ 

“Your parents want to keep the culture alive and well for future generations.” I stood up straight and looked at Tikal. “Yeah, I actually remember reading a little about that in history class last year. About how echidnas used to be the largest Mobian race until a great catastrophe destroyed a lot of them two thousand years ago.” 

She smiled, probably impressed at how much I knew, and we started to head upstairs to her room continuing our discussion on echidnas and stuff. I gotta be honest, during most of the talk, I couldn’t get over how big her house was compared to my old home. Tikal had clued in on the fact that I was more interested in her house and offered a tour. Four bedrooms; two guest rooms, one her room, and the other her parents’. Three bathrooms in the entire house, the fourth in her parents’ bedroom with their own jacuzzi. Let’s see…family room, kitchen, dining room, and a den with an additional two rooms used for whatever they want. Absolute madness for a small family to live in a house so big! 

With the tour done, it was time for lunch which Tikal’s mom had prepared already for my visit. I can see where Tikal gets her studious and timely behavior from. With my first impressions done and the rest of Friday afternoon left to do whatever, I can easily say that I am definitely starting off on the right foot with friends. That and I will most definitely enjoy the party if the party entertainment is just as big and grandiose as the home. 

Saturday morning started off pretty relaxingly. I didn’t sleep in as late as I usually did on weekends since Tikal’s excitement over the party forced me to get up. I’m sure she didn’t mean to make too much noise as she went about following her mom around the house but it’s her day so I’ll let it go. By the time I got up, washed, and groggily made my way downstairs, breakfast was waiting on the table with Tikal and her parents waiting for my arrival. 

“A little too early for you Blaze?” her mom asked as I sat next to the birthday girl. 

“Not at all.” I stretched getting the last bit of sleep out of me. “This is ok for me.” 

Breakfast was short and sweet while her parents discussed the contents of the party. Seemed like most of the party guest would be neighbors so I wasn't exactly sure as to how many other kids our age would attend. Knuckles was on the guest list as well, but his situation was a bit peculiar. 

"We'll have to walk down to his house and pick him up a little later," Tikal explained. "It's not too far from here." 

“Ok…but why?” I pushed my empty plate away from me. 

“His stepmother’s rules.” 

The table fell eerily quiet afterward as if no one had anything else to add or didn't want to elaborate. Being a guest, I didn't want to tread into uncomfortable territory so I just excused myself from the table and Tikal followed suit. Back in her room, she took it upon herself to explain a little bit more about Knuckles's situation. 

"Sorry about what happened in the kitchen Blaze," Tikal said after closing her bedroom door. "We usually tend to avoid talking about her around other people.” 

“Why? What’s wrong with her?” 

From there, she went into some detail about the stepmother. Apparently, the woman was a perfectionist. Always looking perfect with not a hair out of place, had the nicest things anyone could own, and a perfect house that stood out the most among the big houses in the neighborhood. She came into the family when Knuckles was two years old since his birth mother died just after he was born and, even though she rarely got along with any other relatives, she was accepted wholeheartedly. Tikal never understood why and the only answer she got out of her parents was that she was family and family should always be embraced. I guess that makes sense since the entire echidna population is almost nonexistent at this point. 

Anyway, because of the stepmother’s personality, Knuckles lives a pretty sheltered life. Strict curfew, strict rules about going outside, and has to dress up for dinner even if the two of them only eat for a few minutes. Tikal recalled one time when her family went to have dinner with them after her uncle, Knuckles’s father, died five years ago. 

"It was ok until after dinner. I remember going to Knuckles's room afterward to play with him and, all of the sudden, we heard the adults yelling downstairs. I got really scared and Knuckles did too. Then my mom came in looking upset and took me out of the house. My dad had a bruise on his face from where Mrs. Echidna punched him." 

“Mrs. Echidna?” I sat back against the side of Tikal’s bed. 

“Yeah, I’m only allowed to address her as such. Anyway, ever since then my parents barely speak to her and when I ask about that night, they don’t say much aside from ‘she’s family so we must embrace her’. I honestly don’t get it. What were they fighting about?” 

Could’ve been anything. If that woman really is that bad of a monster, I could see why Knuckles is so shy of girls. The one woman he lives with probably scares him to death. In preparation for our short walk down the street to get Knuckles, Tikal explained to me a few basic rules when meeting the stepmother. To summarize, I couldn’t talk to her unless spoken to; had to look nice or at least seem put together; always address her as “ma’am”; never go into her house unless invited in (which was highly unlikely). Basically, Tikal would be doing most of the talking and all I had to do was play statue and smile politely. Why does it feel like I’m being prepped for a diplomatic meeting? 

The time came and around noon, Tikal and I headed out down the street to where Knuckles lived. From afar, I could spot the disgustingly perfect house he and the stepmother lived in. A beautiful burgundy sedan in the driveway, crisply cut lawn, the house painted with a white that seemed brighter than all the other white houses. Every single detail right down to the flower boxes in the window was perfect and I felt as if lightning would strike me if I were to graze a blade of grass. Up the driveway and up the small, cement path to the front porch, I stood behind Tikal while she rang the doorbell and counted the tense seconds in my head. Seven seconds later, the doorknob behind the white screen door opened and a young, sharply dressed female echidna stood on the other side of the screen eyeing us both. I wondered just how young she was ‘cause she looked like a magazine model. Glittering gold jewelry adorning her hands and neck and wild but kept hair swept off to the side of her face nearly masking one eye. Don’t stare, don’t stare! 

"Good afternoon Mrs. Echidna," Tikal spoke clearly while I held in my breath. "Is Knuckles ready to leave?" 

“Yes. He’ll be down in just a moment.” A cold and curt tone just as I expected. 

She disappeared into the house calling out Knuckles's name and, from my vantage point, I could see a little into the living room. Something green and glittering inside a glass door cabinet caught my eye. Somehow I'm not surprised. Tikal's family seemed pretty wealthy and, naturally, Knuckles's family looked the same. I could hear footsteps coming down the stairs in the house and Mrs. Echidna scolding Knuckles about running. Then he appeared at the door with a halfhearted smile and came outside joining the two of us on the porch. 

“Be sure to bring him back by six o’clock this evening,” his stepmother said as she closed the screen door. 

“We will ma’am.” Tikal took Knuckles by the hand and the three of us quickly left the front porch. 

Once far enough from the frigid home, all of us let out that bated breath we were holding back. All of the sudden, without any invitation, Knuckles divulged to us his "awful" morning with the stepmother like he was finally able to release the grief he was holding in. Up bright and early at seven this morning, had a quiet breakfast, reading exercises of ancient echidna text, cleaning, and then we came and "rescued him". His words, not mine. Tikal took a second to whisper to me that this was usually what their walks to school were like. She would get him and he would pretty much say all he would need to say for the entire day. Interesting habit. Once back at the warming atmosphere of Tikal’s home, Knuckles seemed to be completely depleted of any misery and entered into the house greeting his aunt and uncle happily. I kinda like seeing him this way. It’s unusual but in a good way. From there, any short term memories of meeting his stepmother were wiped away from my mind rather quickly. The echidnas and I worked together to set up all of the food and small decorations, which didn’t take that long, and before we knew it the first guest was at the front door. The party started and the cousins and I headed down into the den to hang out and watch TV. 

A few other kids joined us over time, some from Tikal’s classes or nearby neighbors, and they were a nice add on to the social interactions. But the party really didn’t get started for us until Sonic came down the stairs and tackled Knuckles from behind disrupting the circle we had formed. Thankfully, they missed the little piece of cake I had left sitting in front of me. The two rowdy boys did the rest of us a favor and separated themselves heading out to the backyard. Tikal and I joined them minutes later. 

“Wow, I didn’t think so many of the kids in the neighborhood would stop by,” Tikal said sliding the glass door closed behind her. 

"Well, you have awesome parents so I'm sure when they asked their neighbors the word went out naturally,” I said to her. 

“Naturally?” Sonic had suddenly appeared scaring me a little. “More like expected. Her parents are loaded, smart, and pretty popular in this part of town. I mean, come on! Echidnas are a rarity these days, no offense Tikal.” 

“None taken,” the small girl smiled cutely. 

“So yeah, a lot of people kinda take an interest in them whenever they’re around. Especially Tikal’s parents since they’re well educated in the history of echidnas.” 

Ah ha. So they are historians. 

“In fact, I bet that right now your parents are in the living room with all of your neighbors talking to them about ancient artifacts and all the cool places they’ve been to since they’re historians who eat up that kind of stuff.” Sonic felt the need to make so many unnecessary motions while talking. 

“Well they do like learning more about the Echidna Civilization but I doubt everyone puts them on a pedestal like that.” Again, Tikal tried her best to downplay Sonic’s overblown explanation of her parents. I take it she hates the spotlight. 

The glass door opened as some of the other kids came out and enticed us to a game of tag, much to my relief. Ok, so while I do like having Sonic as a friend, I don’t like his endless, overblown, narcissistic way of speaking. It’s like he doesn’t know when to stop. It was an easy lure for Sonic and Tikal was dragged in by some of her neighbors, but as for Knuckles, I stopped him to ask a quick question. 

"Hey. When we came to get you from your place, I saw this green thing inside your living room. What was that?" I took notice of the uneasy look that suddenly appeared on his face as if a bad memory was resurfacing. 

"Oh, that? Um…that used to belong to my dad. It's really old and it's been in the family for generations. When he died, mother inherited it." His shoulders were hunched up as he explained. 

“Cool. So is it handmade? That thing looked too huge to be an actual jewel.” 

"I-I don't know. Blaze, could we stop talking about it. It kinda bothers me." 

I didn’t mean to make him so uncomfortable. I thought he was just getting shy again having to talk to me without Sonic or Tikal present so I let him join the others. You know, if Knuckles is so uneasy about that gem, I can probably bet that was the reason for the big fight between his stepmother and Tikal’s parents years ago. Judging by his stepmother’s overall appearance, I’d say she’s the type that’s pretty comfortable with loads of money to live off of which could only mean that the green jewel has to be real! It explains the fight perfectly! Wait…so is Knuckles is the richest kid in town? I think I’m starting to see why his stepmother keeps him scared stiff and on a short leash. 

The party began to die down just as quickly as it got started once the sun began to sink towards the horizon. Guests left one by one wishing Tikal's family well as I and the others sat in the living room marveling over the grand presents she received. I don't want to sound jealous but it's pretty insensitive to the underprivileged that those with a higher status get treated with lavish gifts when all of that money could be spent on helping those without anything. Social commentary aside, the party was pretty sweet and one that I will certainly cherish being apart of the middle class. Tikal, right on cue, downplayed the upper-middle class extravagance of her birthday celebration when Sonic and I went on about what our ideal birthday parties would be like. Soon, it came time for Sonic to leave and one glance at the clock sent Knuckles back into the depressed state he was in this morning. 

“We should get going. Even though mother said that I had to be home by six, I’m sure she wants me back earlier.” The cheeriness in his voice was totally gone now. 

I wish there was something I could do to help him so he wouldn’t have to go home to that cold-hearted monster but…well it’s just not my place to do so. I’ve only known these two for a few days so what could I possibly change? Anyway, the trek back to his home was…short. In no time, the three of us stood before the red front door behind the white screen door of Knuckles’s home and he seemed hesitant to ring the doorbell. Tikal pushed it for him just to get it over with. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here to get you Monday morning for school.” I heard her whisper to him. 

Her cousin only nodded but, since I stood behind them, I couldn’t see what his facial expression was. I’m pretty sure it was somewhere along the lines of dismal. The front door opened. The stepmother appeared and opened up the screen door guiding Knuckles back in and into her reach. His figure disappeared into the dimly lit living room without a glance back. 

"Thank you for bringing him back on time," she said despite it being fifteen minutes before six. "Your birthday party was enjoyable?" 

"Yes ma'am," Tikal spoke in her crisp and clear voice. "I'll see you on Monday morning. Good night." 

The second the stepmother took to glance at me, I made sure that I was smiling enough so that she would hopefully remember me as someone acceptable enough to grace her presence. Tikal and I left hearing the front door close behind us and walked in a stilted silence back to her home. The cold autumn air lingered in the atmosphere. 

That night, as Tikal and I settled in for sleep, her on her comfy twin-sized bed and I in my sleeping bag on the floor, my mind wandered back to the green gem in the glass cabinet. To think that the stepmother only married Knuckles’s father for a chance at owning the object seemed plausible. To go as far as to think that she may have murdered him, indirectly, to obtain ownership of the gem faster is plausible but only beyond the line of insanity. Even though my parents try to keep me from watching certain programs on TV, there are times when I catch glimpses of stories, either fictional or on the news, of kids who grow up wealthy on the outside but are abused behind closed doors. I’m not stupid enough to ask Tikal if there’s a chance that Knuckles is abused since it’s obvious from her parents that echidnas keep close ties with each other. That’s a line I definitely won’t cross with this family. Still, to see him go from miserable to joyful within seconds of leaving that place makes me wonder what that woman does to him aside from what he tells Tikal on their walks to school. I’m not in love. I’m just curiously worried because…that’s just who I am. 

I suppose it goes without saying that the next day at Tikal’s home, Sunday, was relatively short. Got up, had a nice breakfast, and then my mom came by in dad’s car to pick me up. Once again, Tikal showed me her enthusiasm over my visit by giving me another near chocking hug and was grateful for my present despite it being the least flashy of all of her gifts. An autumn hat. Got into the car and went home with mom. I’ll go ahead and mention that Silver called when I go home, courtesy of my grandfather who gave his parents our new number. From what we talked about, it sounds like he’s doing fine with his new friends… Why do I get the feeling that he’s leaving something out? It wouldn’t be the first time that kid lied by omission. Well, for his sake whatever he chose not to tell me better not be something serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	7. Knuckles: The Long Walk

### Blaze, Age 10

#### Knuckles: The Long Walk

_October_

When the school bell rang at the end of the day, I could only sigh as I gathered my things and headed out to my locker in the hallway. Before I knew it, I was out the front doors watching all the other kids around me go home happily. Where is she? I heard her call my name from the entrance and looked back to see Blaze running towards me.

"Sorry. You weren't out here waiting for long were you?" she said.

"N-no. I just got out here." Don't make too much eye contact! "You ready?"

"Yeah."

She led the way and I eventually swallowed my fear and was able to walk alongside Blaze after leaving the school grounds. The reason Tikal isn't with us is because she's been sick for the past two days. Sonic walked with me back home on the first day, I walked by myself on the second day, today I'm with Blaze, and tomorrow I might be walking home alone again…or with Tikal if she gets better. Yeah, I know someone my age shouldn't need to be walked home by friends but…it's one of mother's rules. I have to walk home with someone since walking alone isn't safe. Maybe she'll let up a little when I'm in high school.

Considering that it's Blaze I'm with, I kinda wish that Tikal would stay at home for the rest of the week. That way, I get to walk home with Blaze again tomorrow and Friday. No, no. She might get suspicious if I start to enjoy our walks home a little too quickly. Gotta stay discreet…or at least inconspicuous.

Everything was pretty quiet between us aside from the occasional question about school and what my teachers are like since I'm a grade higher than Blaze. Soon it became completely silent and while she may have been uncomfortable with it, I liked the silence. Then my stomach had to growl. Gosh, why in front of her?

"Hungry?" Blaze glanced at her watch. "You know, we could run back to school and catch the local bus to the shopping plaza if we go now. You do have enough bus fare, right?"

An afternoon lunch with Blaze? Yeah, I wouldn't mind that since lunch period was a little disruptive with Sonic running about and talking to us sporadically. Finally, I can get a chance to sit with Blaze and not be bothered! We could talk about more than just school stuff. I could get to know her better. Ever since the start of school last month, I've always felt that Blaze and I had a lot in common in terms of personality and we could be great friends if we talked more often. Tikal knows me really well but only because we're family and Sonic…well I like him since he's a great friend, but at the same time he gets on my nerves too often. That was when I started to dig into my pockets and even took off my backpack to see if I had any more spare change…but then I thought about mother. She might've come home early from work, so she would be expecting me to be at home at the usual time. If I went out to the plaza for lunch, even if it was with a friend, I'm sure mother would scold me and punish me with more chores when I got home. Or worse, she would drive around, look for me herself, and then embarrass me in public.

"No, that's ok. I should get home and get started on my chores. Mother doesn't like it when my chores aren't done when she comes home from work."

I felt embarrassed having to admit that but it's true. Mother really is strict about me doing my part in taking care of the house.

"Oh, ok. Maybe some other time."

I know she's not upset or a mean person, but I hope Blaze doesn't think I'm some baby even though I'm older than her. I just don't like arguing with mother. The two of us were getting closer to my neighborhood when we heard someone shouting behind us. Why did I bother looking back? He does this so often that I should at least expect it on the way home. Sonic caught up to us like he always did after school almost every day. I'm sure he was probably goofing around with Jet and then took off to catch up with us.

"Hey! I was going to meet up with you guys after school, but Jet started messing around with me as soon as the bell rang."

Figures.

"So what's up? Another boring day I assume?" Sonic got in between Blaze and I with his arms around our necks.

The two of them went on about their boring day while I listened wishing that Sonic would leave soon. I suppose I could've joined in on the conversation but…I just really want to be alone with Blaze. Not that I would do anything to her! I only want to get to know her better…so we could be friends. Then again, maybe I should be careful this time around. When I started doing the same with Tiara last year, it only led to that embarrassing event in the spring. I know the entire school didn't see it, but it certainly didn't take long before word got around and almost everyone in junior high was teasing me. Why didn't I convince mother to let me stay home the following week? I should've faked being sick. Right there in the middle of another thought, I felt Sonic shove me a little. Does he really have to be so pushy with me?  
"Hello? Are you in there, Knucklehead?" Swatting him away was a good enough answer. "Sheesh. So like I was saying, I'm planning on gathering up a whole group to go out trick-or-treating on Halloween. You two in? Oh and ask Tikal about it too."

"I'll do it if my parents allow me," Blaze said.

"I uh…"

Another opportunity to be with her! …Then again, mother doesn't allow me to go out after dark. I could start asking today and if I keep it up she might cave in and let me go. Especially if Tikal decides to go. On the other hand, it could just lead up to another argument between us…and then she'll ground me again like the last time we argued. Ugh, thinking about the last time always gives me chills. Better play it safe.

"I'll pass. It might be hard to convince mother to change her mind on my curfew," I said.

"Geez man! You're twelve-years-old!" Sonic jumped out in front of us. "That old bag's gotta learn how to let go of you every once in a while!"

"Mother is not an old bag! Take that back!"

Occasionally Sonic says something that just ticks me off to no end, and there have been times where we've almost got into a fight. The thing is, though, he just moved to town in January of this year. I grabbed Sonic by the collar of his shirt, but Blaze quickly moved in and separated us. He seemed pretty eager to fight…then again he's pretty anxious to do anything since I'm sure life is all fun and games in his head.

"Easy guys! Just calm down." Blaze kept us at a distance from each other. "It's not a big deal, Knuckles. If you can't come with us on Halloween, then that's fine with me. We'll just bring you some candy the next day, right Sonic?"

He muttered something while crossing his arms, but I was nice enough to let that go since Blaze was with us. Sonic started to walk away saying that he would see us tomorrow and I was more than happy to see him run off down the street. Finally, some one-on-one time with Blaze, but it may be short since we were almost at my house. I have to think of something to say to her. Something that'll start a conversation! But what...

"Hey, I know you didn't like talking about it last time but…that green gem."

That again? Blaze…

"I know it's not my business or anything but is it like some priceless artifact that's worth millions? I only ask because Tikal told me about a fight her parents had with your stepmother and I figured—"

"JUST STOP IT!"

No! What did I do?! Ok, relax…calm down…count to ten…and back away! I _cannot_ touch a girl! Why did she have to go there? Couldn't she have asked about something else like favorite movies, sports, even shoes!

"Knuckles?" I looked back…and Blaze seemed concerned…or frightened. It's kinda hard to tell since I'm a little jittery right now. Wait. How long has it been since she spoke? Crap! I can't let this silence go on for too long or she'll get the wrong idea.

"You know, I'll just head on home from here," Blaze started saying. "Your house is right down the street, so you should be ok." Stop her. Stop her!

"Blaze, stop!" She turned back to face me. "I…I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"Oh...are you sure?" she asked, still keeping her distance.

I nodded and even forced a half-hearted smile. Eventually, Blaze returned to my side and we walked down the street towards my house. Somehow I didn't feel so nervous about being around her anymore.

"I just get that way when anyone asks about the emerald. Actually, you're the only one that's asked about it since you're the only person, aside from Tikal, that's been to my house," I said.

"And Tikal hasn't asked about it all of these years? Even though she can see it from your front door every time she goes to your house," Blaze said.

Anyone who gets to know our family, or echidnas in general, will immediately find out that we're…a little complex. I started to explain that we echidnas often kept to ourselves when it came to family problems. Hiding away any dark secrets or personal feelings just to keep up appearances and that sort of stuff. It wasn't a real widespread thing for all echidnas, just those in the Knuckles Clan. We just feel that it's important for us to stick with our own kind seeing as how we're a race on the verge of extinction.

"Wow. So you and Tikal are a part of the famous Knuckles Clan? I remember studying about them a little back in elementary."

Famous? I don't think we're _that_ special…

"We're not really part of the clan, so to speak." I hadn't planned on giving her a history lesson of my people…then again, the echidna history taught in schools is inaccurate to begin with. "To be honest, echidna clans don't exist these days. They're a moot point since they were only used for the sake of claiming territory. The bloodlines have muddied so much over the centuries that only a few purebloods exist. For example, I'm a pureblood descendent of the Knuckles Clan. Tikal isn't."

I stopped and removed my backpack to take out the picture of the day I was born, which had my parents and Tikal's parents in it.

"You see, her dad and my dad are twins. So she's actually half Knuckles Clan, half…Desert Clan? I forgot what my aunt is but that's the short of it."

Blaze wanted to look at the picture for a little longer, so I let her…which was the strange part. I really cherished the only photo of my original family. So much that I rarely ever took it out for fear of someone ruining it, specifically Sonic. Is it ok for me to let my guard down so easily with Blaze? She handed the photo back to me, and we continued our stroll towards my house.

"So how many pureblood clans exist these days?" she said.

"I'm not really sure of the exact number. Some of them are so reclusive and small that they still live in jungles and backwater places. There can't be too many left. Knuckles and Nocturnus purebloods are the most prominent with Desert right behind them," I answered.

I didn't think I would be able to accomplish it so soon but…we're actually getting to know each other! Well, Blaze is getting to know more about me but whatever! Everything feels so great right now! I'm relaxed, Blaze is relaxed, and we even avoided talking about the emerald, which was good. Mother never wants me to speak to anyone about it. Come to think of it…what the heck is it? Dad said he would tell me one day, but he died and I, obviously, can't ask mother since she always gets agitated when talking about the emerald. Maybe I should try asking my uncle about it. Surely he knows what it is and why it's been in the family for generations.

"So about that emerald…" Crap, she's right back on it. "I remember you saying that it's been in your family for generations. That wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you're a Knuckles pureblood, would it?"

"Um…maybe? I really don't know anything more about it other than what I've told you. Really!" She started to give me a suspicious look as if I was hiding something.

At last, Blaze let up and we kept on walking. Whew! That was a relief…but the feeling didn't last too long. Up ahead, I could see mother's car in the driveway. Sh-she came home early... I hadn't noticed that I had stopped walking until Blaze tugged on my arm. Her encouragements didn't phase me much. The fear within me came back like a vengeful storm, and my confidence was out of reach at this point.

"What's wrong, Knuckles?" I heard Blaze say. "You're home on time, right? So let's go."

"Uh, right." I allowed her to tow me towards the driveway while I dragged my feet.

The house was getting too close too fast for my comfort. I wished anything would happen at that moment to justifiably distract us. A car accident, some commotion from our neighbors, anything! Instead, the opposite occurred at the worst moment. Mother came out to check the mailbox and stopped midway in the driveway to see Blaze still holding onto my wrist. Gah! Her rules, her rules! I worked up enough courage to break away from Blaze (gently of course!) and walked ahead to the driveway. My stepmother met us out at the sidewalk.

"Thank you for walking him home. I was told that Tikal would be well enough to attend school tomorrow," mother said to Blaze.

"Your welcome, ma'am. I'll see you tomorrow at school, Knuckles." Blaze left…mother retrieved the mail and walked me inside our home.

"Start on your afternoon chores, and then do your homework. I'll call you down when dinner is ready," she said, heading for the kitchen while I walked towards the stairs.

Just as I walked past the glass case holding the green emerald, which was about the size of a softball, I couldn't help but wonder. I knew mother didn't like talking about it, but I'm also not allowed to use the telephone either so I can't ask my uncle right away. Maybe I'll give it a shot. She might be in a good mood today…though it's really hard to tell what her emotions are in general.

"M-mother?" My voice was a little weak, but she stopped anyway at the kitchen door. "I know you told me to never ask about it but…what is that emerald? I think I'm old enough to know since dad said—"

…She slapped me. Just like the last time I asked, she slapped me. Just walked right over and right across my face. It hurt and I wanted to cry. But I didn't. Tears agitated mother as well since I'm supposed to be the "man of the house."

"Why do you want to know that? Why?! So you can tell your little girlfriend?" The grip she had on my arm…her nails were close to piercing my skin. "There's no reason for you to know what it is right now! No reason, you hear me?"

Again she slapped me and started to drag me up the stairs.

"No one else needs to know of that emerald!" She tugged my arm so hard it should've popped out of its socket. "Not a single person unless you want the clan to fall apart! Do you want that?! Huh?!"

"No!" Don't cry. Hide the tears.

"Dammit. I should've forced your father to move us out of this godforsaken town. You need to be with your own kind, not these nosy, money-grubbing, selfish barbarians!"

We reached the door to my "other room." The room with only a lamp, no window, and several locks on the door. It used to be dad's study, but now it's where I go when I'm grounded. Mother ripped my backpack from my hand and shoved me into the room.

"For gods sake Knuckles, when are you going to learn from your father's mistakes? He squandered among outsiders and look where it got him…dead! Stop your crying!" Another slap to my tear-streaked face. "Keep up the stupidity and you'll not only get us all killed but send the rest of this power-hungry world into chaos! Tomorrow you're going to break-up with that girlfriend of yours even if you don't want to!"

The door slammed; the sound pierced my ears and shook my chest. Next came the sounds of mother frantically locking every lock on the door, all seven of them, and encasing me in total darkness. I felt around, tears falling from my eyes in rivers, and finally felt the narrow and smooth body of the lamp and switched it on. Its bright bulb was watery…everything was watery. The room was small…I was small. I sat against the wall hugging my knees and buried my face.

Mother is right. Mother is always right. That emerald is dangerous. The world is dangerous. Outsiders are dangerous…especially girls. Therefore, Blaze is dangerous. Why Blaze? Why did you do this to me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


	8. A Night of Characters

### Blaze, Age 10

#### A Night of Characters

_October_

Just when I thought I was getting Knuckles to come out of his shell a few weeks ago, he went right back in the next day. Although, he seemed even more shy than usual. Almost to the point where I was sure he was avoiding me intentionally. Tikal couldn't figure it out either since she couldn't get a word out of him herself. Why do I suddenly have the urge to go to his stepmother and demand some answers from her? Anyway, it's Halloween night and Sonic is out trick-or-treating with an army of his closest friends. If that army were real, then it would lose any war in the blink of an eye since I can only do so much on my own. Yeah, it's just him and me since everyone else he sent an invite to had "other plans." His quotes, not my own. 

“I can’t believe it! I’m telling you Blaze, there were a ton of us on board for this night and suddenly they all bailed out on me last week! It’s a conspiracy I tell ya!” He ranted again for the third or fourth time. 

By now, I was getting used to giving Sonic my "Silver treatment" of just nodding along with whatever he had to say. Regardless of any real conspiracy, I doubt I would've had this much candy if all of Sonic's buddies came with us tonight. There's no way mom and dad will let me keep all of this. Oh, and if you're wondering about costumes, forget it. I'm not big on dressing up in silly outfits. I'm pretty sure Sonic was too bummed out by the skimpy turnout for the trick-or-treat night, so we're keeping it casual. However, we did see some pretty creative costumes roaming the streets and walked by one place that was having a loud party in the backyard. The night went on and Sonic's mood finally lightened up enough for him to get into the spirit and dragged me to as many houses as we could go to in the neighborhood. Our bags bulged up so quickly that I feared that we would have to end the night early.

“Nonsense! I could race you back to your place, dump the candy, and be right back here to continue our mission!” Sonic declared after we left a very generous house.

Perhaps he's getting into this a little too much. In no time, the two of us made our way around to Tikal and Knuckles's neighborhood where the handouts were so good there were lines of kids at a couple of houses. That's when I learned about one of Sonic's pet peeves: waiting. Since Tikal decided not to come because of her studies, we stopped by her place by surprise. Upon approaching the cutely decorated house with innocent looking Halloween ornaments, we could hear music coming from inside and what seemed to be a living room filled with guests. There weren't too many extra cars parked out in front of the house, so I could only assume that, like Tikal's birthday party, the guests were mostly neighbors. My companion must've made the same deduction for I glanced over and was amused at his fuming face.

"Relax Sonic. I'm sure Tikal has a reasonable explanation for all of this," I said guiding him to the front door with a hand on his back.

The doorbell ranged and Tikal answered dressed up as a medieval princess with a bowl of candy in her hand. She was beaming at first, but the smile quickly faded when she realized it was just us. The rapid tapping of Sonic's foot could be heard over the music and partygoers.

“Oh, hi guys.” Her cheeks cutely turned red while her shoulders hunched up. “How’s the weather tonight?”

Before Sonic had a chance to explode, I immediately turned him away from the door and led him out into the yard. I convinced him to keep his cool and run a few laps around the block. Twenty to be exact. Grumbling and mumbling, the hedgehog agreed if only to keep his "easy-going" reputation intact and gave his bag of candy to me. I returned to the porch to chat with Tikal who stepped outside, bowl of candy in hand and the front door closed but unlocked.

"Don't worry about Sonic," I reassured her and her face returned to its soft colors. "The group trick-or-treat was a bust anyway since everyone else canceled out at the last minute."

"Oh, I see." She sat on the steps and I joined her. "Well, I was honest with you two when I said that I would focus on my studies tonight, but this whole party came up at the last minute."

Sonic jogged by the house on his first lap around the block and disappeared around the corner in seconds.

"One of my father's co-workers is quitting and moving to Mobotropolis where he got a better job offer. So my parents decided to throw a special 'Going Away' party and decided to do it tonight to double it up as a Halloween party. I honestly wasn't keeping this a secret. It was put together this past weekend and I went along with it!"

"Alright, I believe you Tikal," I said settling her down again. "I completely understand. Even I would choose a last-minute party over studying if given the chance."

"Actually, I got all of my studying out of the way over the past two days so I could have this night open." Ok, so I don't completely understand her. "I know the guy's son and daughter. They're both in my literature class, so I wanted to have fun with them before they left town."

Well, that's thoughtful of her. Sonic passed by again going strong with no signs of tiring and even showed off for some passing trick-or-treaters.

“Hey, what lap is he on?” asked Tikal.

“Eight or nine I think.” Surprised I’m actually counting them.

Just then, the front door opened and, to my shock, the popularity queen, Tiara Boobowski, poked her head out the front door. Her costume of an old-fashioned movie starlet seemed fitting for her with the blond wig and glamorous make-up. She was surprised to see me.

“I’ve seen you around before with Sonic. You’re um…”

“Blaze.” I smiled generously at her.

"Right, right," She returned the gesture. "Hey Tikal, we're going to play truth or dare. Are you coming?"

“Yeah. I’ll join you guys in a bit. Go ahead and start without me.”

Tiara and I smiled at each other one last time before she disappeared back into the house. A couple of younger trick-or-treaters approached us and Tikal gave them candy from the bowl. Sonic passed once again on his fifteenth lap as they left for the next house. I couldn't help but use the little distractions to sit there and beam at Tikal mindlessly while she struggled to figure out what I was so happy about. Finally, I broke my silence.

“You’re too modest, you know that?” I playfully poked Tikal in the arm.

“Modest? What do you mean?” No surprise that she was completely clueless about the obvious.

“What do I mean? You’re friends with Tiara and you never bothered to mention this at all to me or Sonic. I don’t think Knuckles knows either… Hey, are you friends with her because he tried to ask her out? Is that it? So he can have another chance with her?”

Instead of her predictable embarrassed cuteness I was expecting, Tikal answered with a knowing smile as if I had pointed out a childish dream.

"Things were just too awkward for him after the incident last year involving Tiara," she said while playing with candy pieces in the bowl. "It was Valentine's Day and he was just getting in the spirit…but I think he was a little too assuming."

The mood changed and I settled down from my mischievous giddiness to listen to the incident that seemed to have scarred Knuckles emotionally. A few months before the incident, Tikal convinced Knuckles to finally talk to Tiara since it was obvious he was attracted to her. As far as Tikal could tell, since she was in elementary school last year, they seemed to be getting along just fine and figured that things would turn out ok if they had the same feelings for each other.

“And if they didn’t feel the same way, I was sure that Tiara would’ve been nice enough to let him down easy. She has that kind of reputation throughout the school.”

Everything seemed smooth at first until Knuckles started to become a little too obsessed with Tiara. He talked about her often with Tikal when she was around. Tried to see Tiara as often as he could. Got really interested in things she liked. The telltale signs of a stalker, at least from my point of view. I kept this thought to myself. Tikal was happy to see Knuckles walking with Tiara at school one day and figured things had gone well.

“If only I had paid more attention to what was going on... Maybe he would've turned out different now. His stepmother probably wouldn't have...”

All of a sudden, the cheerful atmosphere of the party inside could barely touch us. Tikal bowed her head, almost submerging her face in the bowl of candy, and I honestly thought she was going to cry. Telling someone to calm down is pretty useless when their emotions are heightened. So I just rubbed her back gently and hoped it was enough to hold back her tears. When she finally had the strength to go on, she talked about what happened on Valentine's Day. Knuckles had brought some flowers and was going to approach Tiara during lunch with all of her friends around. His intentions were to confess his feelings to her and that all of her friends would be so happy for them. Well...when the big day came, he stuck to his plan.

"I don't know what happened exactly since elementary students eat lunch in a different room, but...he told me that Tiara already had a boyfriend."

The confession was a bust. Her friends all laughed at him and her boyfriend at the time got upset and picked on him for an entire week. Tikal recalled the last confrontation Knuckles had with the boy. She was leaving the school with Knuckles when the boyfriend approached and did his usual teasing about hitting on Tiara. Tikal tried her best to help her cousin, but she was too young to have any effect. A testament to how cruel kids really are at school contrary to what our parents wish to believe blindly. Anyway, the situation escalated and Knuckles did something that shocked even Tikal herself. He fought back. She remembered just barely getting out of the way of the scuffle which only lasted for a minute before teachers rushed out and separated the boys.

"I wasn't sure what to do afterward," Tikal said. "I was a little afraid of leaving him behind and just hearing the principal tell me that Knuckles's stepmother would come and get him scared me even more. But there wasn't much I could do so I went home. Tiara walked with me because she felt guilty about what her boyfriend had done. I think that's when she and I became acquaintances with each other."

Which then led to the friendship. That explains that. Now, how the stepmother came into the situation shed a new light on Knuckles's personality for me. Again, her details on what happened after Knuckles was taken home were vague, but there were telltale signs of what had happened to him when he finally returned to school. Wait. When he finally returned to school?

"Yeah. He didn't show up for a week after the fight. Not only was I worried, but Tiara was as well," Tikal continued.

Miss Popular had broken up with her boyfriend in the aftermath of the fight, and rumors swirled about that it was because she had the hots for Knuckles. Unfortunately, through a heart to heart conversation, Tikal found out that Tiara never liked her boyfriend in the first place. Well, at least she has an eye for character. I really don't get why women in TV shows always go for the jerk or the "bad boy". Meh. A week passed and Knuckles returned to school. "Obviously different from before the fight." Tikal's exact words. He was "very quiet" on what he had been doing at home for a week, "moved cautiously" through the hallways at school, and was "visibly frightened" when Tiara tried to apologize for her ex-boyfriend's actions.

"I begged for him to tell me what happened at home. I knew his stepmother had done something to him, but...he got agitated when I tried to get it out of him one time. So I just never talked about it."

So he snapped at his cousin, huh? Probably in the same way he snapped at me when I egged him about the emerald, although he came to his senses and talked about it a little. But judging by how wary he was the next day... It's got to be his stepmother. I've only had a small amount of face time with the woman twice since I moved over here, but she clearly has an emotional grip on him. I suppose Sonic and I could make a stop by Knuckles's place tonight, even if it's in vain. I stood picking up both my candy bag and Sonic's and managed to wave him down from his jog. I had stopped counting the laps, but he didn't seem to mind since he was running backward at this point. Showoff.

“You girls finally finished up your chick chat?” he asked upon his approach.

"Yeah, something like that." I shoved his bag back into his arms. "Hey Tikal, do you think it'll be ok if we head on over to Knuckles's place? Just to see how he's doing, you know."

"You want to go over there now? Um..." She started nibbling on her fingers nervously. "I don't think Mrs. Echidna will appreciate it. She usually keeps all of the outside lights off during Halloween night so no one would come to the house. If you go there..."

"We might not get an answer." Sonic stepped up beside me. "Doesn't matter. Blaze and I still have more houses to hit up anyway, so we'll catch up with Big Red at school."

With that, Tikal went back to her party and Sonic and I left to continue our candy forage. I was waiting for him to ask why the sudden detour to Knuckles’s place. When he did, I gave him a straight forward explanation.

“...So you want to save him from his stepmonster mom?” He responded.

“Not save him. Just...see how he’s been doing. I don’t like the fact that he’s been avoiding me ever since we talked about the emerald in his house,” I said.

There was a surprising moment where Sonic didn't say a word. So I looked over and noticed that he had a mischievous look in his eye. Great. What's he going to say now? Only he didn't say anything. He was showing restraint. Silver could take a lesson or two from him. However, that look just wouldn't go away, and soon the silence became uncomfortably suspicious. He's not showing restraint. He's intentionally holding it back for dramatic effect! Darn you Sonic! Just get it over with and say it. Come on, come on!

"You wanna save him," he sputtered and he was just as quick in dodging a swipe I had waiting for him.

"No! It's just what I said. We're going to stop by Knuckles's house, ring the doorbell, and if no one answers, we'll leave." I said shortly.

“And if the old lady does answer?”

…I hadn't considered that. I mean, if Tikal was being honest about Mrs. Ecidna (which I'm sure she was), then we wouldn't have to worry about her answering the door. So why even bothering considering that? The woman doesn't seem like the holiday type anyway, so—

“Hellooo? Earth to Blaze? Come in Blaze.” Sonic cupped his hand over his mouth to mimic the sound of a voice coming through a speaker.

“She won’t answer the door. I doubt they’re even at home,” I said quickly.

"So why are we doing this again?" he asked.

He and I stopped. The rapid tapping of his foot slowly grinding my gears

.  
“You’re an absolutely great friend. You know that Sonic?" I made sure my voice was drenched with sarcasm, to which he smiled.

“Hey, I try my best.”

I wasn’t that upset with him. If anything, having these little banters with Sonic made for an interesting friendship. Especially since he could stand up on his own and defend himself verbally with quick quips. Wish I could say the same about Silver.

A short time later, Sonic and I were standing before the evil stepmother's dark abode…ok it was her house. All the lights off, just like Tikal said and the car still in the driveway. So that meant that she and Knuckles were still at home. However, by then, we both had become very doubtful that the wicked witch would answer the door. Instead, we wasted time with some rock-paper-scissors to determine who would be the bold hero to approach the dark lair. I lost to the quick hedgehog, unfortunately. During the drudging walk up the driveway, I contemplated what would happen if she did open the door. A strange look? An angry warning to leave? Wait…would she remember me as the girl who walked Knuckles home that day? Gosh, I’m sending chills up my own spine!

Unfortunately, my walk was interrupted by some raucous laughter from down the street. I looked to see Jet and two older kids with him. Just great. If he's here, then I'm sure Sonic's about to get riled up. Sure enough, the second I looked back, the hedgehog had that look in his eyes and eagerly walked towards the trio of birds. I crossed the neatly cut grass to try and stop him. To no avail, Sonic kept going, eager to greet his school rival.

“Finally! Some action tonight! You with me Blaze?” Before I knew it, he had me by the arm walking alongside him. “You don’t need to answer. Of course you’re with me ‘cause you’re my friend. Anyway, seems like ol’ bird brain got himself a flock. Cool! High schoolers!”

The more he talked, the more I wanted to grab him by the neck and drag him to someplace safe…or to my house and lock him up in the hallway closet. Either way, I didn't like how the odds were stacking up against us. I said whatever I could to get Sonic to change his mind, but he turned into a runaway train. Before I knew it, Jet and his two high school friends had spotted us and the short, green-feathered hawk made a beeline for Sonic. The rivals met, I was finally free of Sonic's grasp, the high school kids looked down on me, and thus started the standoff. I don't mind a good western standoff but can we please get past this silence and just get on with whatever stupid game these guys are going to play?

“I thought trick-or-treating was for babies.” Jet was the first to speak.

"Sure it is. Didn't you check yourself in the mirror this morning?" Sonic shot back.

"Yeah, I did. Fortunately, mine didn't break unlike yours."

“You should’ve looked a little harder. I think the guy standing in the frame was a half-brained look-a-like.”

This back and forth would be all fine and dandy if the combatants were GIRLS! Someone shoot me. Please, just do it now. I want to get this night over with! At last, the war of words had come to a draw leaving only the anticipation of physical competition or something more interesting.

“Heh! You got a lot of guts choosing to stand up to me tonight. Totally ignoring the fact that my high school friends are with me!” Jet poked Sonic with a rigid finger.

“I wouldn’t call it guts, just intuition.” Sonic crossed his arms. “Which just so happens to tell me that those two bozos are nothing but kittens compared to Shadow.”  
Almost immediately, the giant gray albatross on Jet's left growled and even tried to shove his way past his short "leader" with intentions of harming Sonic. No surprise, the hedgehog enjoyed the sudden emotional explosion despite taking a few steps back. Once Jet and his female companion, a purple swallow in white clothing, had the albatross under control, she decided to step up and calm the situation.

"Relax Storm. They're just words."

"Yeah, but-but Wave—"

“Cool it!” she snapped at the albatross and turned to Jet. “Let’s just get out of here. There’s no point in picking a fight with Sonic tonight. We can always get him later once I finish up that side project I’m working on.” She even added in a suspicious wink at the end.

"Yeah. Listen to your mommy and crawl on home. Let dear ol' daddy Shadow take care of me, and then you can curl up by his feet and purr by a big open fire…like the kitties you are."

Friendliest guy in town or not, I don't really understand what the heck is going on in Sonic's mind when he's around Jet. It's like he turns into a vigilante bully or something, protecting the innocent while torturing the bad guys. The kitties comment sent the albatross into a frenzy again suggesting that maybe a kitty insult was his hot button. This attack was too strong for either Jet or the girl to hold back and practically scared the crap out of me. I think I jumped back about three or four feet. Sonic had the exact opposite reaction and welcomed the assault by throwing his bag of candy in the enraged bird’s face. He then scooped me into his arms, at which point my bag of candy slipped from my hands, and took off down the street laughing.

It would've been the perfect opportunity to ask him what he was thinking inciting such rage from a complete stranger. However, I had too much going on in my mind at the time. Where was he going, did he have to run so fast, and why was I so close to a guy!? Personal space is one thing. Hanging onto my friend's neck for dear life while he carried me and ran at an ungodly speed is something entirely different! My eyes were closed the entire time, so I had no idea where he was running to. Finally, the deafening wind died down, and from the sounds of his slowing footfalls, we were probably in a small forest area. Turns out I was right when I opened my eyes. Sonic let me down gently, and I was ready to unleash a fully loaded anger speech on him had it not been for our unexpected guest.

“What a coincidence to see you tonight, Blaze.” That smooth, mature voice was back…and my stomach dropped a little as I turned to see him.

Shadow was standing on the other side of the clearing leaning against a tree…with my bag of candy in hand? How in the world did he get here so fast if he was way back there? Shadow approached holding the bag out to me, but Sonic pushed me back and met the black hedgehog halfway snatching the bag up.

“No need to be so hostile. I was just returning what belongs to the little lady.” Shadow held up his hands as he backed away.

"Sure you were." Sonic brushed him off and searched through my bag, which I took from him immediately.

I don't like Shadow either because he creeps me out just as much. But it was a nice gesture to return my candy. Sonic took his place in front of me defensively and did his best to interrogate Shadow away. Judging by his body language, the creepy kid seemed less interested in what the blue hedgehog had to say. Then like a repeat of last time, Shadow attempted to shove his way past Sonic, but my friend had a little more determination this time in stopping the black hedgehog.

“May I remind you that you’re showing a little too much interest in Blaze.” I could hear Sonic say despite him speaking with a low voice.

"Espio and I agreed that we need a little feminine flavor to our group. You have a fourth unnecessary member in yours, so we'll gladly take her off your hands. But yes," Shadow looked over at me and gave me that unusual smile again. "I am taking an interest in Blaze.”

If I had known where we were exactly, then I would've left and gone home on my own by now. But I didn't and had to endure the uncomfortable confrontation while clutching my bag nervously. Shadow took notice of my reaction and finally forced Sonic aside.

"Forgive me for embarrassing you. That was not my intention. I just wish to have an innocent conversation with you." Shadow approached me and took my hand gently into his. "You see, I have this intuition that draws me to people who know things that I would like to know." His voice dropped to an even lower volume. "I don't know what information you have to offer but I do know this: trust me. Let down your guard and whatever perceptions you have of me and just give me a few moments to speak with you. That's all I ask."

His eyes…they're so gentle. Again, I had no response. Only this time, it was due to that one memory resurfacing in my mind. His red eyes and his aggressive nature of wanting to get close to me resurfaced that event…and the fire…and those violent feelings I had… I was ready to rebuke him verbally, but Sonic tackled him from behind. They missed me by a few inches. I was surprised to see Sonic act so violent. If anything, I’ve been surprised by his behavior all evening. Does he go through some crazy change when there’s a full moon out? The short scuffle only got as far as Shadow pinning Sonic against a tree until some more surprise guests showed up: a male crocodile wearing the school blue and white sports jacket and a female bat dressed casually.

“Hey, what’s going on?” the crocodile said.

“Shadow!” his companion looked towards the hedgehogs.

Immediately, Shadow dropped Sonic and backed away looking seriously pissed at the bat. I take it he knows her well.

"I'll catch up with you some other time, Blaze," It was all he said before running off into the trees.

With the creepy kid gone, my alert senses returned to normal, and I finally relaxed a little. As far as the two newcomers were concerned, I figured they were at least in high school. The crocodile obviously being a student from St. Ives because of the sports jacket he wore. Even better, they were also Sonic's friends as he seemed relieved when the crocodile helped him up.

"Nah, I'm fine Vector." Sonic dusted himself off. "That guy is a jerk anyway, and now he's after Blaze for no reason!"

I was approached by the bat who was concerned for me but I reassured her that I was fine as well. Sonic then suggested that Vector should probably walk me home which I was ok with after a night like this. He may have been a stranger to me, but if he’s cool with Sonic then he’s cool with me.

“I’ll see you at school next week!” Sonic called out to me as he left with the bat girl while Vector and I went in the opposite direction.

The walk was silent until we came out of the trees and walked in between a few houses. There had been a definite decrease in trick-or-treaters when we made it out to the sidewalk. It was probably close to 9 PM or so. Hopefully, Vector will cover for me if my parents are upset when I get home. All of that aside, I can't get Shadow's eyes out of my mind now. The way they looked when he spoke to me… Aside from their striking red color reminding me of fire, I felt…a tinge of happiness or embarrassment in my heart as they pierced into me. I’m a little confused whether or not it's ok for me to feel this way about a strange kid I barely know and everyone says is a wrong person.

“So what was the fight about?” Vector’s voice broke my concentration.

"That? Well…it's kinda strange, but Sonic was just protecting me." It was so weird hearing myself say that when I'm the one who's used to doing all the protecting. For Silver.

“So Shadow tried to hurt you?” Vector looked down at me.

"No, he was just…trying to talk to me, and that seemed to bother Sonic a lot."

Explaining the situation to an adult would make Sonic seem like the bad guy. Thankfully, Vector wasn’t an adult and seemed to sympathize as if he understood why Sonic and Shadow fought. So I had to ask to see just how notorious Shadow was on this side of town.

"For someone who's only been here since the beginning of the year, he didn't waste any time in establishing himself as a guy you don’t want to run into in a dark alley. I’ve never been on the receiving end of anything he’s done. Although I have heard stories of kids getting on his bad side.” Vector said crossing his arms and going into deep thought.

Shadow turned out to be creepier than I took him for. He's apparently made kids disappear for days only to come home frightened and traumatized. He went up against a gang of teenagers in the downtown area and they soon disbanded after the confrontation. Even the local police are having trouble with keeping track of him despite having more patrol cars going around at night. Which, by the way, does explain why there are more police cars roaming the streets at night. A lot more than in the vills across town. The guy comes and goes like a villainous magician, and no one knows why either. When I asked about the chameleon I remembered seeing with Shadow last month…Vector seemed somber.

“Espio can do better for himself,” he said with a grimace.

“Do you know him?”

"Just barely. I met him for the first time about a year ago. Around this time, actually."

Right there, he got started on the short tale of how Espio came into his life briefly. Vector was out one night riding with his friends in their car when the chameleon suddenly stumbled out into the road from the bushes. The accident was a miss, and nothing serious happened aside from a few freaked out teenagers spinning out of control in the middle of the road. Upon getting out, Vector saw Espio collapse and convinced his friends to take him and the kid back to his place. His parents were away on a wedding anniversary vacation, so he had the whole house to himself. Vector clearly recalled the condition Espio was in. Thin, very cold, and about as unclean as your average homeless person. The chameleon was cleaned up and put into Vector's room to rest with the crocodile looking to making a phone call to the police in the morning about a possible runaway.

The next day came, and Espio had enough strength to make his way downstairs and stop Vector from calling the authorities. He didn't give a reason why and only collapsed in the end prompting his caretaker to make him some food. Three days Espio was there, and Vector got very little out of him about his past.

“All he ever said was that he had no home and his only family was a clan he lived with in Chun-nan,” Vector said.

Chun-nan?! That's halfway around the world from here! Espio can't be much older than Shadow, so how did he wind up in Mobius? In any case, I let Vector finish. On the third day, when the crocodile was going to force some answers out of his guest, the kid had left on his own. Not even a thank you note or some ninja calling card. A few months later, Vector hears that Espio is in the company of Shadow, but the sudden departure was their last contact with each other. That's a little disturbing. Even after being nursed back to health by a generous stranger, he preferred the company of an absolutely unusual kid. What the heck did Shadow say or do to get Espio to go along with him? It can’t be just for kicks unless Espio prefers bad company…

"It's like I said, he can do better for himself, but…I just don't know," Vector said in the end.

I’m just as clueless too. Even if Shadow seemed friendly at first, I would’ve bailed out on him after witnessing his devious deeds.

"It's kinda sad to think that with all the manpower and neighborhood watching we do, it seems like the only one who's able to put a damper in their trouble-making is Sonic." Vector mentioned out of the blue. "Come to think of it, those two hedgehogs arrived in town around the same time. I wonder if they have a history with each other…"

Huh…that’s news to me. It does put a new perspective on the animosity between Sonic and Shadow.

“Maybe I’ll ask Rouge. She seems to be pretty close with Sonic.” I heard him mumbled under his breath.

“Who’s Rouge?” I had to remind him that I was still here and I still needed to get home.

He smiled sheepishly.

"The girl I was with earlier. It's kinda weird that she's close friends with a kid despite dating a guy like me. Haha."

“Jealous he might do something?” The mood was getting lighter, I was getting comfortable with Vector, and I decided to enjoy the night stroll.

"As if! As fast as he is, there's no way he can take on a big guy like me."

We came to a stop at an intersection, and Vector seemed a little lost as to where to go. Thankfully, I recognized the neighborhood and led the way back to my apartment complex. As I hoped for, Vector did cover for me when we got up to my unit, and my parents freaked out about what time it was. They were grateful to him, thanked him with a small cash reward (mom is always like that), and he left. I tried to escape to my room as fast as I could, but dad stopped me and confiscated my candy bag. Drats! The amount he returned wasn't even a fourth of my earnings for the night. I'm pretty sure that the next morning I'll find a mountain of candy wrappers in the kitchen trash can. He always does that every year when I go trick-or-treating.

The candy conspiracy aside, I can easily say that tonight was a very interesting night full of characters. If anything, it'll definitely give me something to talk about with Silver the next time I see him. But until then, I should probably keep an eye out for Shadow. I can't help but get the feeling that he's a very persuasive guy. Should I let my guard down, I may end up on the other side with him doing who knows what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated weekly or as soon as my personal life will allow it. Open to questions.


End file.
